Elanora home destroyed by fire

Crossbenchers to decide 'who is running the state'

Three Queensland MPs may vote "as a block" to support either Labor or the LNP after meetings on Wednesday.

The Sunshine Coast independent said he had been consistent in his demands for the need of "certainty" and "stability" in the state and that "the next government in Queensland is able to govern with confidence, that there won't be frivolous votes of no confidence raised on the floor of parliament".

"That they can get on with the job of governing and leading Queensland in an inclusive manner and dealing with the issues that the state government is elected to deal with," he said.

Independent Member for Nicklin Peter Wellington says he has learned much since the first time he supported a Labor minority government. Photo: Harrison Saragossi

"If you look back at my record when something like this happened quite a few years ago [1998], I didn't beat around the bush, I met with the leaders of the respective parties and then I formed an opinion.

"I have had those meetings. I would prefer to give the Katter boys some additional time and I am prepared to make an announcement tomorrow."

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Katter Party MPs Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth said they couldn't say when they would make a decision, but hoped to meet with Mr Wellington again on Wednesday evening.

Mr Wellington said his dealings with the LNP had been complicated by the fact the party was still to elect a leader. While a unity ticket between Tim Nicholls and Lawrence Springborg has been all but torn up, a number of other contenders had put their names forward.

Mr Springborg was nominated as the representative to speak on behalf of the LNP during negotiations, but Mr Wellington said he had been contacted by "a number of different groups" from the LNP who offered "a range of scenarios they are all considering".

"I am aware of three different groups," he said.

"The person that I met with today, has the authority of the Liberal National Party in Queensland to be the representative on behalf of their party."

Mr Wellington had met with Mr Springborg, had a phone call with another would-be leader, but had not been in contact with Fiona Simpson.

"No one can negotiate until some seats are resolved and the party room meets, but the team is working on a very fruitful discussions at this point with the crossbenchers. But importantly, we have to also ensure that we bring our own members with us and that has to happen in the party room."

Mr Wellington said he didn't believe the LNP was overly stable at the moment and blamed Campbell Newman for not letting the LNP move forward.

"I think there is real confusion, because unfortunately, Premier Newman has indicated he won't allow a meeting to be held," he said.

"So this confusion is a direct result, I believe, of Premier Newman's decision to not allow the Liberal National Party members to meet and choose a new team."

Mr Knuth of Katter's Australian Party said there were still some decisions to be made.

"We've had discussions and each one of them is about what we believe is in the best interests of Queensland and rural and regional Queensland," he said.

"We had the opportunity to meet with Annastacia and the Labor leadership team, likewise Lawrence Springborg and also Fiona Simpson and we are happy to discuss with any other players that come up and put their hands up.

"But overall, it is steady as she goes, we are still waiting for the count and no one knows the end result until all the votes come in."

At the most recent count, neither party was predicted to win enough seats to govern in its own right, but Labor, on 44, would only need one extra vote, while the LNP, on 42, would need three.

Complicating matters further is the issue of Ferny Grove. It could be headed back to the polls after it was found the Palmer United Party candidate was ineligible to stand for office, as he was an undischarged bankrupt. If the Court of Disputed Returns decides his votes and preferences had an impact on the election result in that seat, it could mean a by-election.

If the LNP was to win that, both parties would be on 43 seats each. In that scenario, the LNP is counting on support from the Katter MPs to get it across the line.

But it would still only be left with a one vote majority on the parliament floor. While the Speaker, who must be appointed first to enable Parliament to continue, has a casting vote in the event of a deadlock, they do not have a deliberative vote. If Labor was to win government with Peter Wellington's support, it would only have 44 votes on the floor.

It would mean that negotiations would have to continue with the cross bench to enable any bill to pass.